The invention relates to an outer joint part of a constant velocity universal joint which comprises an externally cylindrical casing part whose inside is provided with tracks to allow the engagement of torque transmitting elements, and which further comprises a substantially annular flange part which is provided with a central inner recess and which is slid on to the casing part and connected thereto, as well as provided with circumferentially distributed fixing holes for threading on a counter flange.
An outer joint part of this type is known from DE 43 14 503 C1. Between fixing portions having circular-arc-shaped outer edges, there are provided concave connecting portions and which have a smaller radial dimension than the fixing portions. The casing part and flange part are joined by a continuous weld.
In the attempt to save weight, outer joint parts of the above-mentioned type become more and more thin-walled. In some cases, outer joint parts which used to be exclusively forgings or hot-formed parts are now produced from plate metal by cold forming processes.
Even if a suitable material is selected, such thin-walled outer joint parts are easily deformable. One of the main objectives of modern forming processes consists in finish-producing the guiding tracks of the outer joint parts in the course of the forming operation which, at most, are followed by surface treatment processes.
This method is risky in that during subsequent assembly of the flange parts, the casing part of the outer joint part may be subject to deformation resulting in inaccuracies in the previously accurately produced guiding tracks. The measures of providing increased accuracy in producing the flange parts or of machining the seat faces for the flange parts at the casing part, which would prevent this deformation, are undesirable because of the additional costs.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide an outer joint part of the initially mentioned type which makes use of the advantages of a cost-effective production process without allowing any defects in the dimensional accuracy of the guiding tracks during the assembly of the casing part and flange part.